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Re: Do you like Mead? Do you not like Mead? Have you tried Mead? POLL

I had it once in Ireland and loved it. My sisters tried it too but didn't like it so I got to drink theirs as well. That was fine by me because it was delicious! It wasn't dry or sweet but nicely in between.

Re: Do you like Mead? Do you not like Mead? Have you tried Mead? POLL

My first taste of mead was a chaucers, yuck! Had to give mead another try. I tasted a few homebrewed versions and a small commercial brand, and brewed my own! So far I have made Joes ancient orange, and joes quick grape, both were excellent! I am going to try to brew a cyser and a melomel this winter. Let mead age, and it will surprise you!

Re: Do you like Mead? Do you not like Mead? Have you tried Mead? POLL

I LOVE mead. I used to brew beer, but have switched almost entirely to mead. I figure a 22 oz bottle of beer costs me $2-3 to brew and about $4 to buy, while a 22 oz. bottle of mead costs $3 to brew and about $15 to buy. Plus it is just so delicious.

I brew "sipper" meads, starting around 1.130 and finishing between 1.010 and 1.020 (semi-sweet to low on the sweet side), with around 14-15% alcohol. I must be doing something right because all of my four housemates are brewing mead now too. Finally got enough honey this year to make a "homegrown" mead. I plan to age it on oak for a few weeks as an experiment. Blackberry mead is finishing up nicely. GF's apple cyser mead is settling out, finishing a bit on the sweet side. Brewing a grape mead (pyment) with assorted wine grapes next week.

Re: Do you like Mead? Do you not like Mead? Have you tried Mead? POLL

Originally Posted by Luterra

I LOVE mead. I used to brew beer, but have switched almost entirely to mead. I figure a 22 oz bottle of beer costs me $2-3 to brew and about $4 to buy, while a 22 oz. bottle of mead costs $3 to brew and about $15 to buy. Plus it is just so delicious.

What beers where you buying a bomber of for only $4? Most of the ones I buy cost between $7 - $12.
I've yet to taste a mead I'd drink a second time.

Re: Do you like Mead? Do you not like Mead? Have you tried Mead? POLL

Ninkasi (local Eugene brewery) usually has bombers for between $4 and $5 around here. Good beer too. Granted I more often pay in your $7-$12 range as I am always trying "unique" beers brewed with vanilla beans, rosemary, agave syrup, yarrow, etc.

I've had relatively few commercial meads that I really enjoy. APIS in Poland makes some of the best in the world - try a "Kurpiowski" or "Jadwiga" if you get the chance. They are definitely in the dessert category in terms of sweetness but with exquisite flavor.

To me, the most common mead mistake is a lack of flavor intensity. With no hops/roasted malts as in beer or grapes as in wine, mead is left with whatever non-sweet flavors were in the honey. This flavor profile is usually subtle and not always delicious. My solutions are to 1) brew "big" meads with high alcohol and a fuller body, encouraging sipping (and tasting subtle flavors) rather than just drinking, 2) add fruit, spices, and/or oak chips to complement and add to the flavor profile of the honey, and 3) aim for a level of sweetness that is definitely noticeable but not cloying. I want my mead to taste like it was made from honey, and this is difficult to achieve without sweetness.

Re: Do you like Mead? Do you not like Mead? Have you tried Mead? POLL

My biggest complaint with the meads I've had is the alcohol is way too prominent and up front. Tastes like I'm drinking medicine. With beer, that can quite easily be corrected. If I'm drinking a big beer (10 - 12 ABV), I want that alcohol to be an afterglow that sneaks up on you.

Re: Do you like Mead? Do you not like Mead? Have you tried Mead? POLL

I’ve never had a mead I liked. I’ve tried commercial, tasted blue ribbon contest winners and made all sorts of my own…even using recipes from books. There’s just something that isn’t pleasing to my palate. I keep making it…trying different techniques…hoping to finally make one I can enjoy. I have a blueberry in mid brew as I speak. The stuff I make often gets oooohs and aaaahhhs from folks who try them (oooohs and aaaaahs are good sounds) but they still have that distinctive diesel fuel flavor in my mouth. Disappointing…but I keep trying.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. - Emerson

Re: Do you like Mead? Do you not like Mead? Have you tried Mead? POLL

I tasted my first honey mead couple of years ago in Tasmania, Australia. It was so smooth and sweet. Fantastic. I wish I could remember the brand name because I have not found any other honey mead as pleasant. I agree with Barry that some honey meads taste like medicine. I prefer them sweet. Maxwell Honey Mead has a nice flavour. http://www.maxwellwines.com.au/maxwell-mead/

Re: Do you like Mead? Do you not like Mead? Have you tried Mead? POLL

When making mead, it initially can taste like your horse has diabetes or like an especially brutal form of chemotherapy! It need aging and fiddling with just like most wines get unbeknownst to the end user. Lower alcohol meads get civilized first, but most take a year for a start to get good or start getting good. I have a cherry and a peach going that are going to be just fine and dandy for the Christmas after this next one. A few bottles will get tested this year. I have one carboy of 20%ABV that will sit plotting evil for at least it's second full year before it is pleasant to sip. It is starting to taste like honey but is still a little hot. Another year and it will be wonderful on non driving days.